There's also a new voice on the Orlando bench. The Magic fired Jamahl Mosley in May after 5 seasons and hired Sean Sweeney in June. They also brought Nikola Vučević back on a 1-year deal for his second stint with the club, and added guards Malaki Branham and JD Davison in September. Tuesday is Sweeney's first look at Cleveland on his home floor, and his second-to-last tune-up before the Heat come in on October 16 to close the preseason.
For Cleveland, Sunday was a bounce-back. The Cavs opened the preseason with a 124-113 loss to Boston in which the Celtics grabbed 21 offensive rebounds, and Kenny Atkinson came out of that game calling rebounding "a concern coming into the season." That's an odd thing to say about a team with Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen up front, and it's the thing to watch again Tuesday. Cleveland has its own question marks inside: Khalifa Diop (knee) and Nae'Qwan Tomlin (back) both sat Sunday and are still day-to-day.
The other storyline is the rotation. Atkinson has said he wants to tighten to 10 men from 11, and part of the preseason is figuring out how to stagger the Mitchell-Harden backcourt against the Mobley-Allen frontcourt so 2 of the 4 are always on the floor. Harden came out of his ankle scare looking fine. Whether he plays a second game in 3 days, or gets the night off, is something Cleveland hasn't said yet.
Put it together and this is a game about personnel, not results. If Bane and Suggs suit up, Orlando gets its first real preseason look at its own backcourt next to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, and the 14-point margin from Sunday stops meaning much. If they sit again, Cleveland's starters will probably build another early lead before both benches take over the 2nd half.